The 2013 Capitol I&E Days has come and gone. And needless to say, there was a lot of great stuff that happened on May 6th & 7th. We had over 160 participants this year from 53 counties in California and once again dropped off information with every legislative office in the Capitol. But what were our favorite parts of I&E Days? Read below and then add your own in the comments!
This year I felt that the legislative speakers (Assembly members Dickinson, Levine and Bloom) were particularly impactful. They all had such great perspective on how far we’ve come as a movement and really understand how much (and how urgent!) work still needs to be done to protect all Californians. But more importantly, with their local experiences they appreciate how important our local work is. What a great trio! – Vanessa Marvin
My favorite part of I&E Days this year was the Meet & Greet. Most years, the Meet & Greet is fairly straight forward, attendees come, have some snacks, hear a couple speakers and then go to dinner. This year, at the suggestion of our fabulous workgroup, we threw in a scavenger hunt designed to get people talking. And boy did it work! Everywhere I turned there were people smiling and introducing themselves to colleagues they had never met before. It really was a fun way to get to know people and inject some much needed fun into the event. – Erin Reynoso Read More »
Last weekend, I walked into a bar and saw people smoking inside. My first reaction: “Why aren’t the bouncers stopping them?” My second reaction: “Why are those cigarettes in cool colors?” I then walked up to these smokers and realized they were smoking E-cigarettes. I have seen them before because my dad tried them to quit a few years ago (he said they didn’t help). But back then, they just looked like long plastic pens. The E-cigarettes these people were smoking came in different colors and they were proud to show them to me.
After they showed me their different E-cigarettes that came in pink, white, black and blue, I blatantly told them that those will not help them stop smoking and there haven’t been enough studies to know if what they are inhaling and exhaling will cause harm. Their responses were along the lines of “At least I’m not smoking a real cigarette.” Although this is a common excuse used by those that smoke e-cigarettes, they are still smoking where and when they would normally be prohibited from doing so. The “freedom” to smoke where you want and the belief that this will help them quit are what grabs consumers, however, a quick Google search shows me that E-cigarette brands acknowledge in small print that they are not a cessation product and are marketing themselves as a new and stylish way to smoke. Read More »
Guest Blogger – Jaime Jenett, MPH, Policy Coordinator, Contra Costa Tobacco Prevention Project
Worldwide, 40% of women are exposed to secondhand smoke regularly. Secondhand smoke doesn’t only make us sick, it’s killing us. Women make up 47% of the 600,000 annual secondhand smoke deaths throughout the world, compared to 26% men.
I always found secondhand smoke irritating but I never knew how dangerous it is until I started working in tobacco control. I didn’t know this toxic substance can actually trigger cardiac events in people with heart disease or that even low levels are harmful.
The majority of the secondhand smoke complaint calls I take as part of my job are from women. They usually call because secondhand smoke is drifting from a neighboring apartment or condominium. Many of the women and their children have health issues that are being made worse by the smoke. They are literally trapped in their homes with toxic fumes. They call me because they don’t know what to do.
The World Health Organization and the U.S. Surgeon General have determined that the most effective way to protect people from secondhand smoke is through secondhand smoke protections policies. Despite this, only 7.4% of the world lives in jurisdictions with comprehensive smoke-free laws. In California, the state law protects people in a few places including most indoor workplaces. In the last ten years, an increasing number of local communities are adding even more protections. Read More »
Guest Blogger – Serena Chen, American Lung Association in California
Over the past 20+ years as a tobacco control advocate I have met some pretty special people – one of the most memorable has been Kenneth Leung, who, at the time I met him in 2007 was 77 years old and ready to fight for the right to be able to breath in his own home.
A former smoker, he had emphysema and had quickly realized that shortly after moving into a senior housing complex in Alameda that his health was deteriorating due to the smoke drifting into his apartment from his downstairs neighbor. Although the property manager offered to move him to a “safer” unit, he refused because “someone else would be put into harm’s way.”
He called the American Lung Association and found me who asked him to wait until I could set aside some time to help him. He didn’t listen. He began to organize his fellow residents to advocate for non-smoking buildings within the 168-unit complex. He brought the issue up with the City of Alameda Housing Commission, ultimately recruiting nine other tenants to attend a commission meeting and brought letters of support from an additional eight residents.
As a result of his efforts, the Smoking Policy Committee was established in July 2007 with Housing Authority staff, residents from the Independence Plaza complex including Mr. Leung, and me. He had started the “revolution” without me and now I was joining in to help him bring it to a successful outcome. Along the way, he worked with the Chinese-speaking residents who made up about a quarter of the residents to ensure that they understood the process.
He told me that when he turned 70 he sat down and reviewed his life to see what achievements he was most proud of. “I had nothing. What I can do here [for smokefree housing] is going to be it,” he explained to me. How could I not help this man! Read More »
The other day, a friend who recently turned 21 asked me if I knew of any bars that allowed smoking indoors. At first, I had to laugh, then told her that I have read multiple municipal codes of countless cities and counties in California for the State of Tobacco Control 2013: California Local Grades Report and I did not know of any cities that allow smoking inside restaurants and bars. I also told her I’ve been to many bars and have only seen people get kicked out for smoking inside. To my surprise, she was shocked at my response. She said she has seen many television shows that depict smoking in bars and just thought that could have been the norm and maybe she could find one that allowed smoking indoors in Oakland. To shock her even further, I told her Oakland actually has a very good Tobacco Control Grade of a B. This is an example of a commonly held belief that cities with greater socio-economic hardships and higher diversity have more lenient tobacco control policies, however, this seems to be a misconception.
The misconception stems from the fact that the tobacco industry targets these types of communities. But what appears to happen in response in some communities is that the city tries harder to create stronger policies to hamper the tobacco industry’s efforts. Given this information, it is not surprising to find that the top 17 cities and counties to receive an Overall Tobacco Control grade of an A vary in income and racial diversity. Albany, Calabasas, Compton, Richmond, and Santa Monica are all found together in the top 17 regardless of their many differences. The similarities, however, are that their city councilmembers are doing great jobs protecting their residents from the harmful effects of tobacco. The State of Tobacco Control Report also points out that there is no correlation between population and strong tobacco control policies; the cities in the top 17 range from populations as low as 18,488 (Albany) to 192,654 (Glendale). All of this information can be found in the new section in the State of Tobacco Control 2013: California Local Grades report, called “Top of the Class.” This section details the race, median income, and population of these top cities. Read More »
The 2013 Capitol I&E Days has come and gone. And needless to say, there was a lot of great stuff that happened on May 6th & 7th. We had over 160 participants this year from 53 counties in California and once again dropped off information with every legislative office in the Capitol. But what were our favorite parts of I&E Days? Read below and then add your own in the comments!
